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INTERNATIONAL  INSTITUTE  OF  AGRICULTURE 


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MISCELLANEOUS  PUBLICATIONS 


Volume  1 
Ml 


\) . 


TABLE  OF  COHTERTS 

1.  Statement  concerning  the  institute. 

2.  Letter  to  Mr.  Perkins  relative  to  the  institute.  1909. 

3.  The  Institute  and  cooperative  banking.   1909. 

4.  Resolution  passed  by  the  national  grange.  1910.   2  copies 

5.  Price  Fluctuations  in  the  staples:  their  influence  on 

the  welfare  of  the  state.   1910.   2  copies. 

6.  Its  labors  in  behalf  of  economic  betterment.   1910. 

7.  General  introduction  to  the  bulletins  of  the  bureau  of 

agricultural  intelligence  and  of  diseases  of  plants. 
1910. 

8.  Heport  of  the  delegation  of  the  U.S.  to  the  general 

assembly  of  the  institute.   1911. 

9.  Message  from  the  president  of  the  U.S.   concerning 

creation  of  institute.   1906. 

10. Its  influence  on  economic  welfare.   1911. 

ll.Raiffeisen  System  of  rural  cooperative  credit,  its 
adaptation  and  adoption  in  the  U.S.   1912. 

12.L'Activite  de  l'Institut.   1912. 

13. Le  Present  et  l'Avenir  de  lfInstitut.   1912. 

14. Su  Importancia  para  la  America  latina,  en  especial 
para  Chile.   1913. 

If .Message  from  the  president  of  the  U.S.  concerning 
the  general  assembly  of  the  institute.   1913. 

16. Board  of  Agriculture  and  fisheries.  The  Institute- 
Its  objects  and  its  publications.    1912. 

17. The  Landschaft.   Co-operative  rural  credit.   1913. 

18. Pamphlet  concerning  the  institute.   1913. 

19. The  Way  out  of  the  rut.   1913.  2  copies. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2011  with  funding  from 

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http://www.archive.org/details/steadyingworldsp01unit 


TABLE  OF   CONTENTS  (cont.) 

20.  Concerning  the  international  year  book  of 

agricultural  statistics.   1915,  1914. 

21.  Steadying  the  world's  prices  of  the  staples.  1914. 

22.  Proposal  for  an  international  conference  on  the 

regulation  and  control  of  ocean  carriage  by  means 
of  an  international  commerce  commission. ...... 

23'.  Concerning  the  fourth  volume  of  the  International 
year-book  of  agricultural  legislation.   1915. 

24.  Letter  to  Senator  Hiram  W.  Johnson  on  the  work  of 

the  institute.   1918. 

25.  Our  foreign  trade  after  the  war.   1918. 
26. 


Calendar  No.  678. 

63d  Congress,  )  SENATE.  J     Report 

%d  Session.       )  \      No.  778. 


STEADYING   THE    WORLD'S    PRICES    OF   THE    STAPLES. 


August  25  (calendar  day,  September  4,  1914). — Ordered  to  be  printed. 


Mr.  Fletcher,  from  the  Committee  on  Commerce,  submitted  the 

following 

REPORT. 

[To  accompany  H.  J.  Res.  311.] 

The  Committee  on  Commerce,  to  whom  was  referred  the  joint  reso- 
lution (H.  J.  Res.  311)  instructing  American  delegate  to  the  Inter- 
national Institute  of  Agriculture  to  present  to  the  permanent  com- 
mittee for  action  at  the  general  assembly  in  1915  certain  resolutions, 
having  considered  the  same,  report  thereon  with  a  recommendation 
that  it  pass  without  amendment. 

The  report  of  the  House  committee  is  hereto  annexed  and  made 
part  of  this  report. 

[House  Report  No.  1095,  Sixty-third  Congress,  second  session.] 

The  Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs,  to  which  was  referred  the  joint  resolution  (H.  J. 
Res.  311). instructing  the  American  delegate  to  the  International  Institute  of  Agricul- 
ture to  present  to  the  permanent  committee  for  action  at  the  general  assembly  of  the 
institute  in  1915  certain  resolutions,  reports  the  same  back  to  the  House  with  the 
recommendation  that  it  do  pass. 

The  International  Institute  of  Agriculture,  having  its  seat  at  Rome,  Italy,  is  a 
permanent  Government  institution  created  by  treaties  signed  June  7,  1905,  between 
the  United  States  and  the  following  powers:  Italy,  Montenegro,  Russia,  Argentine 
Republic,  Roumania,  Servia,  Belgium,  Salvador,  Portugal,  Mexico,  Luxemburg, 
Switzerland,  Persia,  Japan,  Ecuador,  Bulgaria,  Denmark,  Spain,  France,  Sweden, 
The  Netherlands,  Greece,  Uruguay,  Germany,  Cuba,  Austria-Hungary,  Norway, 
Egypt,  Great  Britain,  Guatemala,  Ethiopia,  Nicaragua,  Brazil,  Costa  Rica,  Chile, 
Peru,  China,  Paraguay,  and  Turkey.  Since  the  creation  of  the  institute  14  other 
powers  have  become  adherents,  making  the  total  number  at  this  time  54  nations  repre- 
sented in  the  institution. 

Confining  its  operations  within  an  international  sphere,  the  institute  is  authorized 
and  directed,  among  other  things,  to  submit  to  the  approval  of  the  Governments,  if 
there  be  need,  measures  for  the  protection  of  the  common  interests  of  farmers,  and 
it  is  under  the  subsection  designated  "f, "  article  9,  of  the  treaty  referred  to  that  it  is 
proposed  to  instruct  the  American  delegate  to  offer  a  resolution  inviting  the  adher- 
ing Governments  to  participate  in  an  international  conference  on  the  subject  of 
steadying  the  world's  price  of  the  staple  agricultural  products. 


2  STEADYING  THE   WORLD  S  PRICES   OF   THE   STAPLES. 

If  the  invitation  thus  extended  is  accepted,  a  conference  consisting  of  delegates 
or  members  named  by  each  of  the  adhering  Governments  will  meet  in  Rome  to  con- 
sider the  advisability  of  formulating  a  convention  for  the  establishment  of  a  perma- 
nent international  commerce  commission  on  merchant  marine  and  on  ocean  freight 
rates,  with  consultative,  deliberative,  and  advisory  powers. 

The  committee  held  hearings  on  the  resolution,  the  testimony  taken  developing 
the  following  facts: 

That  of  the  entire  ocean  freight  traffic,  seven-ninths  consist  of  bulk  traffic,  the 
greater  proportion  of  which  is  the  staples  of  agriculture. 

That  two-ninths  of  the  total  ocean  freight  traffic  consist  of  package  traffic,  includ- 
ing practically  all  manufactured  articles. 

That  while  the  freight  rate  on  package  traffic  can  not  be  changed  by  the  carriers  with- 
out giving  30  to  60  days'  notice  to  shippers,  the  rate  on  bulk  traffic  maybe,  and  in  fact 
is,  changed  without  notice  and  fluctuates  hourly. 

That  the  domestic  price  of  the  staples  of  agriculture  is  governed  by  the  export  price 
which  fluctuates  with  the  rise  and  fall  of  ocean  freight  rates  on  bulk  traffic. 

That  the  world's  price  of  the  staples  of  agriculture  can  not  be  steadied  until  a  fixed 
rate  can  be  established  on  bulk  traffic  the  same  as  package  traffic. 

Independent  of  the  abnormal  conditions  which  now  obtain,  the  ocean  freight  rates 
have  increased  within  the  past  two  years  from  100  to  200  per  cent  and  are  controlled 
absolutely  by  a  shipping  trust  which  arbitrarily  fixes  the  charge  for  carrying  the  staple 
commodities,  and  the  burden  of  increased  rates  has  been  borne  largely  by  the  bulk 
traffic.  The  broad,  international  scope  of  the  question  is  patent,  and  it  is  one  of  pri- 
mary importance  to  every  agricultural  nation  in  the  world. 

The  committee  heard  Mr.  David  Lubin,  American  delegate  to  the  international  in- 
stitute, whose  testimony  indicates  that  favorable  action  will  be  taken  by  the  adhering 
Governments  on  the  res.lution  thus  initiated  by  the  United  States. 

o 


63d  Congress,  )  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENT  ATI  VES.  j   Report 

2d  Session.       f  j    No.  1095. 


STEADYING  THE   WORLD'S  PRICE  OF  THE  STAPLES. 


August  18,  1914. — Referred  to  the  House  Calendar  and  ordered  to  be  printed. 


Mr.  Goodwin  of  Arkansas,  from  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs, 
submitted  the  following 

REPORT. 

[To  accompany  H.  J.  Res.  311.] 

The  (  ommittee  on  Foreign  Affairs,  to  which  was  referred  the  resolu- 
tion (H.  J.  Res.  311)  instructing  the  American  delegate  to  the  Inter- 
national Institute  of  Agriculture  to  present  to  the  permanent  com- 
mittee for  action  at  the  general  assembly  of  the  institute  in  1915 
certain  resolutions,  reports  the  same  back  to  the  House  with  the 
recommendation  that  it  do  pass. 

The  International  Institute  of  Agriculture,  having  its  seat  at  Rome, 
Italy,  is  a  permanent  Government  institution  created  by  treaties 
signed  June  7,  1905,  between  the  United  States  and  the  following 
powers:  Italy,  Montenegro,  Russia,  Argentine  Republic,  Roumania, 
Servia,  Belgium,  Salvador,  Portugal,  Mexico,  Luxemburg,  Switzer- 
land, Persia,  Japan,  Ecuador,  Bulgaria,  Denmark,  Spain,  France, 
Sweden,  The  Netherlands,  Greece,  Uruguay,  Germany,  Cuba, 
Austria-Hungary,  Norway,  Egypt,  Great  Britain,  Guatemala, 
Ethiopia,  Nicaragua,  Brazil,  Costa  Rica,  Chile,  Peru,  (  hina,  Paraguay, 
and  Turkey.  Since  the  creation  of  the  institute  14  other  powers 
have  become  adherents,  making  the  total  number  at  this  time  54 
nations  represented  in  the  institution. 

Confining  its  operations  within  an  international  sphere,  the  insti- 
tute is  authorized  and  directed,  among  other  things,  to  submit  to  the 
approval  of  the  Governments,  if  there  be  need,  measures  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  common  interests  of  farmers,  and  it  is  under  the  sub- 
section designated  "$,"  article  9,  of  the  treaty  referred  to  that  it  is 
proposed  to  instruct  the  American  delegate  to  offer  a  resolution 
inviting  the  adhering  Governments  to  participate  in  an  international 
conference  on  the  subject  of  steadying  the  world's  price  of  the  staple 
agricultural  products. 

If  the  invitation  thus  extended  is  accepted,  a  conference  consist- 
ing of  delegates  or  members  named  by  each  of  the  adhering  Govern- 
ments will  meet  in  Rome  to  consider  the  advisability  of  formulating 
a  convention  for  the  establishment  of  a  permanent  international 
commerce  commission  on  merchant  marine  and  on  ocean  freight 
rates,  with  consultative,  deliberative,  and  advisory  powers. 


2  STEADYING   THE   WOKLD  S   PRICE    OF   THE   STAPLES. 

The  committee  held  hearings  on  the  resolution,  the  testimony- 
taken  developing  the  following  facts : 

That  of  the  entire  ocean  freight  traffic,  seven-ninths  consist  of  bulk 
traffic,  the  greater  proportion  of  which  is  the  staples  of  agriculture. 

That  two-ninths  of  the  total  ocean  freight  traffic  consist  of  package 
traffic,  including  practically  all  manufactured  articles. 

That  while  the  freight  rate  on  package  traffic  can  not  be  changed 
by  the  carriers  without  giving  30  to  60  days'  notice  to  shippers,  the 
rate  on  bulk  traffic  maj  be,  and  in  fact  is,  changed  without  notice, 
and  fluctuates  hourly. 

That  the  domestic  price  of  the  staples  of  agriculture  is  governed" 
by  the  export  price  which  fluctuates  with  the  rise  and  fall  of  ocean 
freight  rates  on  bulk  traffic. 

That  the  world's  price  of  the  staples  of  agriculture  can  not  be 
steadied  until  a  fixed  rate  can  be  established  on  bulk  traffic  the  same 
as  package  traffic. 

Independent  of  the  abnormal  conditions  which  now  obtain,  the 
ocean  freight  rates  have  increased  within  the  past  two  years  from 
100  to  200  per  cent  and  are  controlled  absolutely  by  a  shipping  trust 
which  arbitrarily  fixes  the  charge  for  carrying  the  staple  commodi- 
ties, and  the  burden  of  increased  rates  has  been  borne  largely  by  the 
bulk  traffic.  The  broad,  international  scope  of  the  question  is  patent 
and  it  is  one  of  primary  importance  to  every  agricultural  nation  in 
the  world. 

The  committee  heard  Mr.  David  Lubin,  American  delegate  to  the 
international  institute,  whose  testimony  indicates  that  favorable 
action  will  be  taken  by  the  adhering  Governments  on  the  resolution 
thus  initiated  by  the  United  States. 

0 


